Food, Faith and Fitness

22.

Age is a funny thing isn’t it? How old we are apparently defines what we can achieve in life. #WRONG

I was 21 when I got married and pregnant. According to society…it’s too young to be doing these things. Let me tell you something. The worlds view on age is WRONG. Let’s go back to the bible and see how old people were when they got married and fell pregnant. Abrahams wife, Sarah was like 90 when she became pregnant with Isaac. I know people say that things have changed since then and blah blah blah…but have they really changed THAT much? Sure women can’t exactly give birth at 90 because we don’t live as long as they did back then but don’t let the worlds view of your age define you and your life’s decisions!

I was talking to a close friend a week or so ago and she said something to me that has really stuck and changed the way I feel about age. She said “I was taught a valuable life lesson from someone that is young enough to be my daughter”. She said “You’re 22 and teaching a 45 year old how to be a better person without being condescending and making me feel like crap – who does that!” I didn’t really know what to say to be honest. It took me by total surprise!

I’ve always felt like I was mature for my age and more mature than some people that are older than me but I was always too scared to speak up about things that I was passionate about or had an opinion about because the world tells us that ‘our elders should be teaching us things, not the other way around’. But I think we have some pretty cool things to teach them as well! As long as you aren’t being condescending, I believe as young people we can shape the future of our world by teaching those younger AND older than us!

My husband is a manger and he manages people who are quite a bit older than him and he sometimes struggles with it because when he has to pull them into line about something, he feels like he can’t because they’re older than him and while he’s just doing his job in a respectful way, ‘the world’ still sees it as being wrong.

We all have to be willing to learn things from each other, no matter your age and abilities. Be open to those older and younger than you and you might be surprised with what you learn.

Hello Danielle. I’m learning things every day from my 15 month old boy. Things about him: his innosence and overwhelming desire to learn and grow, his joy at the simplest things, his trust, his completely unconditional love and vulnerability. And things about me: my need for control, my judgement of myself, my emotions. One of my best friends is 65. He’s one of the most awesome people I know. Only difference is he’s been around longer. We learn from each other. Learning is evolution. We grow. We change. We grow again. Xx

My dad (despite being older than me) always taught me that you can learn something from everyone. Everyone has has a different set of life experiences and skills that should be respected and can be learned from (even sometimes if it’s just what not to do).

I also struggled with leadership roles when I was promoted above much older people at age 18, including an Aunty of mine. The challenge is equally bringing any counseling and coaching with respect while expecting respect for your even if they don’t want to respect you as a younger person.

Always remember though, it is only you that you control. Some people will still choose to respond in disappointing ways.